Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned Ukraine in December not to use force on protesters. / Nicholas Kamm, AFP/Getty Images

by Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY

by Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has not spoken to his Ukrainian counterpart since troops there fired automatic weapons on civilians, Rear Adm. John Kirby, Hagel's spokesman, said Thursday.

Hagel has not been in touch recently with Defense Minister Pavlo Lebedev despite efforts to engage with him, Kirby said.

The White House condemned the latest attacks, calling on President Viktor Yanukovych to withdraw his forces from central Kiev.

Pentagon officials have been urging Ukrainian troops to "remain on the sidelines," said Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman. Their use of force would have consequences for the relationship between the countries, he said.

Hagel spoke with Lebedev on Dec. 13 and "warned Minister Lebedev not to use the armed forces of Ukraine against the civilian population in any fashion," according to a statement issued then by Pentagon spokesman Carl Woog. "He underlined the potential damage of any involvement by the military in breaking up the demonstrations and called for restraint."

Other Pentagon leaders, including Gen. Philip Breedlove, the head of the U.S. European Command, have attempted to reach the Ukrainian military without success, said Col. Ed Thomas, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Ukraine is a member of NATO's "Partnership for Peace" program. That arrangement allows for NATO to help European countries that are not part of the alliance to modernize their military forces. Ukraine has been a member of the program, which also provides training for those countries to enable them to take part in western military operations.

Eileen Lainez, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the Pentagon's ongoing relationship with Ukraine includes:

â?¢ Professional military education at U.S. military training centers/schools; â?¢ Grants to purchase U.S.-made equipment for units/ships designated for NATO operations and the NATO Response Force; â?¢ Ties between the California National Guard through the State Partnership Program, and conducts numerous bilateral military seminars each year; â?¢ The U.S. and Ukrainian military have operated together in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan; â?¢ Two joint Partnership for Peace exercises per year in Ukraine, one for ground forces and peacekeeping and the other for naval forces.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also called on his Twitter feed Thursday for Ukraine's military to remain neutral.